Associational Thinking Center:

Resources for AT's

www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/opinion/02brooks.html The New York Times article by David Brooks on the Cognitive Age - the times in which we now live where "in order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information".

www.brainrules.netBiologist, Dr. John H. Medina describes how the brain works and how to get the most out of it. Check out his engaging website where you can read, listen or download excerpts from his book and watch related videos. Find out why vision trumps all other senses.

www.howstuffworks.comCurious about how things work? This Discovery site provides easy to understand explanations of how the world works. Lots of pictures with short explanations. Lots of videos. From the practical to the whimsical - if you want to know how it works, check this website.

www.ideaconnection.com Interested in working on confidential R&D challenges? Learn how you can become a "solver" and collaborate with others to provide innovation solutions to various companies seeking external experts.

www.innocentive.comIf solving wicked problems is your passion, check into the world's first open innovation marketplace. "Seeker" organizations post challenges on InnoCentive's website and offer professional recognition and financial rewards to registered "Solvers" for the best solutions. Some innovations have been made public by mutual consent of the Seeker and Solver - such as the solar powered mosquito repellent for use in fighting malaria.

www.johnnybunko.comJohnny Bunko is the hero seeking career advice in Daniel Pinks' acclaimed manga book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need. Johnny has a life beyond the book - be part of the Bunko nation.

www.petercallesen.comPeter Callesen's art literally comes right "off the page". See his paper cut sculptures expand into the space surrounding the cut. Some might make you wonder, "just how did he do that?"

www.playpumps.orgWhen you look at a merry-go-round do you think of clean water? See how PlayPumps International and Roundabout Outdoor use child's play to bring clean drinking water and a better quality of life to villages in Sub-Saharan Africa. You can even sponsor a play pump.

http://drjilltaylor.com/Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist, chronicles her own vivid experience of a stroke in her book My Stroke of Insight. Check out her website for articles, her stained glass brains, and the link to her TED video presentation about her experience.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the World, Daniel Pink. Pink suggests that the future belongs to the person with the kind of mind that can survive and thrive with the type of chaos and complexity we are experiencing in the world today.

Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy, Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer. Explores what innovators need in the connected economy to thrive and who are the hottest leaders.

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings, Peter Sheahan. A Gen Y'er, Sheahan is known internationally for consulting with companies that want to operate successfully in an economy that thrives on new ideas. Learn from "flip stars" like Google, Apple and Richard Branson.

On Intelligence, Jeff Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee. Hawkins, architect of the PalmPilot and Chief Technical Officer for Palm, Inc, has always been fascinated by how the brain works (a nerd with a passion for neuroscience). He founded Redwood Neuroscience Institute where much of the theory presented in the book was developed. Blakeslee is a science correspondent for the New York Times, specializing in neuroscience.

Outliers, Malcom Gladwell. Gladwell writes in a way to help the reader think differently about the world. In this book, he tells about people who are successful through the help of others.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, Daniel Pink. This is America's first business book in manga (Japanese comic format). It's easy to read and provides six lessons about productive careers.

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robinson. The element is the point where a person's natural talents meets with their passion. Read stories of artists, scientists, business leaders and athletes whose "different thinking" was not recognized by the educational systems when they were children.

The Opposable Mind: Winning through Integrative Thinking, Roger Martin. Engaging management success stories of leaders who reached innovative solutions by being able to hold opposing ideas in "constructive tension" in their mind. The focus is on how these leaders think not what they do.

The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. Addresses how high performance, happiness and health are the result of managing energy not time. Read the authors' recommendations for becoming fully engaged on the job and in your life.

Thinkertoy: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques, Michael Michalko. Fun tools and exercises to help you look at information and see something different for different solutions.